Afghan Americans have a long history of immigrating to the United States, as they may have arrived as early as the 1920s.[5] Due to the political borders at that time period, some of these Afghan immigrants may have been ethnic Pashtuns from British India (present-day Pakistan and India) or Afghanistan.[5]Wallace Fard Muhammad, credited for being the founder of the Nation of Islam, may have been from Afghanistan. A World War I draft registration card for Wallie Dodd Fard from 1917 indicated he was living in Los Angeles, California, as an unmarried restaurant owner, and reported that he was born in Shinka, Afghanistan in 1893.[6] During the 1930s and 1940s, well-educated Afghans entered America.[5] Between 1953 and early 1970, at least 230 migrated into the United States.[5] Some of those who entered the US were students who won scholarships to study in American universities. After the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, around five million Afghan citizens were displaced, being forced to immigrate or seek refuge in other countries. These Afghan refugees mostly settled in neighboring Pakistan and Iran, and from there many made it to the European Union (EU), North America, Australia, and elsewhere in the world.

Like all other immigrants living in the United States, Afghan Americans have gradually adopted the American way of life but some still value their traditional culture. They watch Afghan television stations, listen to Afghan music, and eat traditional Afghan food at home. They also value their oral tradition of story telling. The stories they usually tell are about Nasreddin, Afghan history, myths and religion.[5]

Afghan Americans celebrate August 19 as "Afghan Day". It is a commemoration of the Afghan Independence Day, which relates to August 1919, the date when Afghanistan became globally recognized after the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 was signed. Small festivals are held in cities that have Afghan communities, usually at the parks where black, red and green colored Afghan flags are spotted around cars.[9]

Some Afghan ethnic groups fall under the White-American category, while others fall under the Asian-American category. Pashtuns, Afghan Jews, and Tajiks are considered white Americans, where as Hazaras are considered Asian Americans. Depsite being technically considered white in America, many Pashtuns and Tajiks do not socially and culturally blend into "white america," while other, more assimilated ones may socially blend into white America (most often younger ones).[10] Afghan Jews in New York appear to blend in well with Ashkenazi Jews, whom are socially considered white by most Americans.

Most Afghan Americans are Muslim, the majority of whom follow Sunni Islam, with a sizable community of Persian speaking Shia Muslims, as well as others who follow Ismailism.

Afghan immigrants that arrived to the United States before 1979 were well-educated.[5] In contrast, current immigrants have fled Afghanistan after it destabilized during the 1979 Soviet occupation as this group has had trouble coping with learning a new language.[5] Those who have pursued their education in America in the middle 20th century and traveled back to Afghanistan, faced trouble attaining employment when returning to the United States since their education, often in medicine and engineering, is frequently viewed as outdated.[5] After the Soviet invasion, Afghanistan's education system worsened, causing many migrants in the late 20th century to place less emphasis on educational attainment.[5]

After the September 11 attacks in 2001, a mosque run by Afghan-Americans in New York City donated blood, held a vigil for those who died inside the World Trade Center (WTC) and funded a memorial for NYC fire fighters.[25] Since late 2001, after the start of America's longest war, many Afghan-Americans have worked alongside the United States Armed Forces as interpreters, contractors and journalists. A number of them were wounded or killed while on duty inside Afghanistan. Thousands of Afghans who worked as interpreters were admitted to the United States under the SIV visa program.[26]